


In Over His Head

by Elensule



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-15 22:54:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15423456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elensule/pseuds/Elensule
Summary: Tony Stark. Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist. Superhero. Incidentally, he has a thing about pools, water, oceans... you get the picture.  It's been his own little secret... until, it's not.





	In Over His Head

**Author's Note:**

  * For [weirdwithhumor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/weirdwithhumor/gifts).



> Hi all! This has been a fun little challenge to write, and a nice change of pace from some of my other, darker works. It's not quite as fluffy as I wanted but I really did enjoy writing it! Thanks so much for reading!
> 
> I want to thank Lisa as always for editing, and ZephyrChrysalis for the amazing cover and scene separators! And also for the random nano guy who jumped in to give me a quick double check read to make me feel better because Lisa likes me too much so I always want a second opinion. :P
> 
> This fic does have one brief scene which might bother people. If you are concerned about possible triggers please skip straight to the bottom and I'll put the warning in the end notes.
> 
> Enjoy, everyone, and read the rest of the fics in the challenge, I'm sure they're all great!

Tony Stark was no fan of swimming. Not that he bragged about it, you understand. He just… generally avoided water over his head. Something about good old fashioned waterboarding had a way of putting you off of the pool, you know? So, no. Tony wasn’t a swimmer. That didn’t mean that eccentric-billionaire-superhero-philanthropists didn’t have a certain _image_ to uphold, of course. It was purely for that reason, and that reason alone, Tony found himself lounging on the rooftop pool deck of the Avengers’ tower. 

The sun beat down bright and hot, like most July days in New York, and Tony sipped the fruit juice mocktail that DUM-E had made. He really would have preferred a Sex on the Beach, both literally and in his hand, but he was trying to cut down on the drinking. It could seriously impact his Avengering, and that was the last thing he wanted. 

Time at the pool with a bunch of superheroes _did_ have its upsides, though. Mostly in the eye candy department. Of course, he wouldn’t ever let _Clint_ hear that, he wasn’t an _idiot._ Still, he got some primo people watching in without ever leaving the privacy of his own home, so he could call that a win. At the moment, he reclined and blessed his polarized sunglasses as he watched Clint posturing in the pool with Natasha, both wearing next to nothing and reveling in it. The water glistened off their shoulders and down their backs as they wrestled with each other. Tony took a sip of his drink to hide the smirk of enjoyment as he watched.

“Hey, Stark, why don’t you get in on this?” Clint shouted over his shoulder. “Tasha could use a hand!” His laughter was cut off with a wet gurgle as Natasha dunked him. Tony shivered as a little water splashed out and hit his foot, but he managed to hide the wave of fear with a nonchalant salute.

“Thanks but no thanks,” he said, tipping his glass toward them. “You don’t get a tan like this from lazing around in the pool. You two carry on without me.” He took another swig as the elevator doors opened, and choked on a cough. The most beautiful sight he had ever seen lay behind the gleaming metal, and that counted every Iron Man suit and the element that ran the arc reactor. 

Steve Rogers stepped out onto the roof, a towel slung over his shoulder and a tight black speedo on his hips that left _nothing_ to the imagination. “Hey, Tony,” he greeted as he headed toward the lounge chairs. He dropped the towel on the one next to Tony and grinned. “You gonna take a swim with us? It’s a great day for it.”

“What? Swim? Oh, nope, no, I’m just here to work on my tan.” Tony spoke quickly, even more grateful for the polarized lenses than he had been before. “Don’t mind me, though, have at it. Just watch out for the Wonder Twins out there, they’re on a spree, I think.”

Steve chuckled. “Suit yourself. Y’ know, we didn’t have real great pools like this before. Would sure have made summer a lot easier if we did.” He shook his head and turned toward the diving board. Tony’s mouth went dry as Steve nonchalantly mounted the ladder and moments later executed a perfect dive. He came up for air halfway across the pool, the crystalline water gliding over his head as he broke the surface. Every arc of his body maintained exquisite form as he ate up the distance with powerful strokes. At the opposite wall he executed a seamless flip turn and once again made it nearly halfway back before he came back up for air. Watching him was mesmerising. When he touched the wall again, Tony stood up as quickly as he could manage without drawing Nat and Clint’s attention. Abandoning his drink, he fled for the elevator and the safety of his workshop. _Oh man… I am_ so _fucked_....

Tony loved his workshop. It was the place he went when things got overwhelming; JARVIS and the bots didn’t expect social skills or his money. They just wanted his company and to help him create. It was a refreshing change, so of course it was where he went when he needed to get away from the rest of the Avengers.

He threw himself into the design of the new arrows for Clint, since he’d promised the archer that he would have them ready by the end of the month. It definitely had nothing to do with the way his heart was pounding in his chest and his mind kept sliding to a super soldier cutting through the water of the pool. He pushed that thought aside as hard as he could. There was no way that he was going to tell Steve that he found him attractive. The man was from the forties! He’d probably punch first and ask questions later. Or else he’d get that adorably confused look on his face. The one that said he had _no_ idea what you were talking about, gee, isn’t the world crazy now?

He was so lost in the design, flicking and manipulating things, that he didn’t hear the door of the workshop slide open. “Hey, Tony.” 

Tony dropped the prototype arrowhead he’d been holding with a surprised yelp. “What the… Oh, hey Steve.” Steve? What the heck was he doing down here! “Did you need me for something?”

Steve hesitated, looking almost sheepish. “Oh, not really, just… you left the pool so suddenly. I came up from my swim and you were gone. Is everything okay?” 

Well. That was unexpected. Tony reached for the arrowhead and picked it up, rolling it in his fingers. “Everything’s fine, Cap,” he said, fighting the urge to push Steve out of his lab. “Just had things to do, you know? We can’t all spend the day lazing around at the pool.” 

Steve was frowning now, Tony noticed. Why was Steve frowning? This wasn’t his angry frown, it was his ‘something is wrong here’ frown. Nonono, that wasn’t the plan!

“Tony, Clint and Tasha said you were only there for half an hour. Even you need a longer break than that.” Steve was being serious. Tony couldn’t believe it.

“Cap… nothing against you, and all, but… why do you care?” Tony tried to make his voice nicer, he really did. But he saw Steve flinch nevertheless, and he set the arrowhead down on the desk. “That came out wrong. It’s just, well, you and I really aren’t friends. Damn. That came out wrong too.” 

“Tony.” Steve looked even more upset, the frown an actual frown now. “I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I _have_ thought of you as a friend.” He was earnest. Frighteningly so, really. It made something uncomfortable and hot squirm in Tony’s stomach. “If you haven’t read it that way, I apologize.” 

“Aww, geeze, Cap. I didn’t mean it like that.” Tony was back-pedaling and he knew it, but he wasn’t sure he could stop. “You’re a great guy, really. It’s not you, it’s me. Did they say that in the forties?”

Steve’s frown wasn’t moving, and Tony felt himself getting more frantic. The Captain’s puppy eyes could put any infant to shame. “Look, it’s really nothing personal. You know me, always going a mile a minute, no time for the common folk?”

“That really doesn’t sound like you,’ Steve said, shaking his head. “I mean, I know you can get a little overwhelmed sometimes, but you’ve never hesitated to join in with the group when we’re all together.” He stepped closer, and Tony took a reflexive step back. “Get a coffee with me.”

Tony blinked. “Yeah, exactly I just… What?” That was a turn of events that did not compute, at all. Where the hell had that come from?

“Get a coffee with me,” Steve repeated. “You said we aren’t friends. I want to be your friend. Let’s go get a coffee.” 

It would take a stronger man than Tony to resist that kind of earnestness, and he sighed. “Right. Okay, you win. Let’s get coffee.” 

“Great! Let’s go, I know a great place over on Fifth.” Steve was already turning for the door, and Tony blinked.

“Now?” He shook his head. “Cap, I’ve got stuff to do. I was thinking… maybe… Tuesday?” He trailed off in the face of Steve’s puppy dog eyes back in full force. Finally, he sighed and wiped his hands on his pants. “Okay, okay, let’s go. But only for an hour! I really do have stuff to do.”

 

Steve’s grin was blinding, and that squirmy feeling was back in Tony’s stomach. That was a pretty unexpected surprise, all things considered. Lust, he was used to. Butterflies? Not so much. Shaking his head bemusedly, he followed Steve out of the workshop and up the elevator back into the real world. He definitely didn’t check out Steve’s ass as they walked. Nope. Definitely not.

Tony Stark went on a lot of dates. It came with the territory, really. Most of them never went anywhere, and the few that _did_ rarely went where the media thought they did. Tony was a master of getting the maximum amount of spin for the least amount of follow through, ask anyone who interviewed him. But Tony would be hard pressed to say that he really _liked_ dating. A lot of schmoozing and empty promises for a few hours of company. 

That all said, though, coffee with Steve had been great. Oh, sure, it wasn’t a _date_ date. Steve was straight, after all. But coffee had been surprisingly enthralling, after they got over the initial awkwardness. Steve, it turned out, knew a _lot_ about vintage car engines. Coffee had turned into dinner, had turned into an impromptu visit to one of Tony’s garages. Before they both knew it, it was three in the morning and Steve had regretfully gone to bed. Tony stayed up the rest of the night, working on the arrow after a breakthrough the engines had triggered.

It wasn’t the coffee, though. By itself, the coffee was just nice. It was the _next_ coffee that was weird. Well, the coffee, and the invitation to come work on the vintage car Steve had just found at an auction. Where did Captain America find time to go to an auto auction? Nevermind. The point was, after their coffee, Steve was just _there_. Coffee, workshop time, dinner, it seemed like every time he turned around, Steve was right there.

“Hey, Tony!” Speak of the Devil, and here he was, if Captain America could ever be called the Devil. He shouldered his way into the workshop with his hair dripping down his throat, turning his white tee translucent. Tony was becoming good friends with that twist in his belly. _Captain America is straight,_ he reminded himself firmly. That didn’t make him any harder on the eyes, though.

Steve was carrying two plates of something, and Tony’s stomach rumbled. “Bringing me dinner again? You’re gonna spoil me, Cap.”

The plate smelled heavenly, spicy and smoky. Steve grinned. “Can’t have that. I guess I’d better take this back upstairs with me. I’m sure Thor wouldn’t mind having a few extra of his smoked ribs…” He held the plate out teasingly and laughed when Tony made grabby hands for it.

“Nonononono,” He said, stepping forward and pulling the plate toward him. Steve blinked at him in surprise and it took Tony a moment to realize why; usually Steve set the food down for him so he didn’t have to hand Tony something. Tony immediately changed the subject, that twisting feeling in his stomach returning when he realized that apparently Steve had joined Pepper in the ranks of People Who Could Hand Him Things. A rank of two was a very small rank. 

“So why are you all wet this time? And Thor’s in town? Why didn’t I know Thor’s in town?” Steve rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. Since when did Steve have fond exasperation? Tony couldn’t pinpoint, but apparently since they’d started going for coffees. 

“Tony, we all talked at dinner _last night_ that Thor was going to be here today, remember? We had a pool party this afternoon. JARVIS has been trying to raise you for the last three hours.”

“Indeed, sir, the rest of the team has been on the roof while Master Thor was working the smoker.” JARVIS’ voice was as even as it always was. “I have been asked to summon you no fewer than three times an hour since two o’clock, however, you have placed me repeatedly on mute.” Even Tony could hear the mild rebuke in the AI’s phrasing.

“Oh, right. That pool party was today. Sorry.” Tony shrugged as he reached for one of the ribs. Sauce dripped off the end as he brought it to his mouth, and he moaned. “Ugh. So good.” Tony spoke around a mouthful as he eyed Steve speculatively. “Why aren’t you up at the party?” 

“I had to make sure that you would get to eat,” Steve said. “We missed you in the pool.” He said it casually, but Tony wasn’t dumb enough to miss the look on Steve’s face. Speculative and calculating.

“Yeah, pool parties really aren’t my thing, Cap. Not enough booze, you know?”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “We had a bar. I know you’re trying not to drink as much, though. And I do appreciate that, by the way. I’m not sure I ever said that. But we had plenty of options.” He brushed his hair back from his face as it dripped again over his cheek. “My point is, we missed you. It was good team bonding.”

“Yeah, yeah, you say that now but when boozy drunken Tony ruins the party, you’d all wish I stayed in my dungeon.” Tony licked sauce off his fingers and then reached for the ear of corn, perfectly grilled and dripping butter. “Oh… Oh, perfect.” He took a bite, purposely focusing on his food as Steve looked at him across the lab bench. 

“Tony, we _did_ miss you. And no one would have minded if you got a little tipsy. Clint and Natasha were thinking of starting a drinking game when I left to bring you dinner, actually.”

Tony snorted. “Poor Clint. Tash’ll drink him under the table.” He shook his head as he reached for another rib. “Look, it’s no big deal. You can tell everyone that I ate and I’m totally fine. I just got caught up in my project, you know how it goes.” He grinned. “I’ll come to the next movie night or something, make it up to everyone.”

“Well, if that’s the best I can get, I guess I can take it.” Steve smiled warmly and Tony’s stomach flip-flopped again. “But you know, back in my day we used to say ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’” He kicked Tony’s shin lightly. “I know you’ve cut back on going out but we really could use you when we do team things. Otherwise it’s two on two and that hardly seems fair when I’m facing off against Clint and Natasha.”

His laugh was loud in the otherwise quiet of the workroom, and Tony shook his head. “I guess Bruce isn’t much help against those two, that’s true.” He wished, for a moment, he could tell Steve why he didn’t want to go in the pool. About the panicky feeling that tightened his chest whenever he got water on his face, or felt like he might be pushed under. He couldn’t, though. Not and have Steve ever trust him in the field again. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said instead. “Thanks for dinner.”

“That’s all I ask.” Steve’s smile made it all feel better, and Tony grinned back. They drifted into safer topics as they finished their ribs, and Tony let himself be dragged upstairs after because apparently _Movie Night_ was some kind of keyword trigger for JARVIS. Both of their communicators had gone off not ten minutes after they finished eating, informing them that Movie Night was _Now, Tony. Don’t try to get out of it. -Natasha_

And if they had to share a couch when they got there because they were the last two to arrive? _Well_ , Tony told his traitorous brain, _If this is all I can get of him, I’ll take it_. Man. He was so screwed.

Everything came crashing down in August. It was hot, sure, but it was also _rainy_. Tony was an indoor person by nature, but the rest of the Avengers were decidedly _not_. The fact that running and sparring outdoors had been curtailed by Mother Nature meant that Tony was hiding down in the lab much more than usual. Strangely enough, Steve followed him many times and spent many of the rainy days holed up on the ratty couch in the corner just sketching. 

The thunder that was crashing overhead should have been distracting, except for the benefit of the sub basement workroom. Tony was thoroughly engrossed in the blueprints for a new helicopter that Rhodey had asked him to look into. He’d actually forgotten he wasn’t alone in the room; Steve was so good at being quiet that he faded quite regularly into the background. “Hey Tone, I’m gonna get something to eat. Are you hungry?”

Tony startled, the hologram he was working on freezing in place as his hand jerked unexpectedly. “Shit. I forgot you were here.” He blinked and glanced over at Steve, finally nodding slowly. “Uh, yeah, sure, I could go for a sandwich.”

Steve’s smile was blinding. Tony was so used to that flipping in his stomach now, he almost didn’t notice it. At least, that’s what he told himself. “Great! C’mon, I think there’s still some leftover smoked burgers that Thor made the other day, we should get them before they’re gone.”

Tony perked up. Thor’s smoked burgers were _legendary_ so he definitely wanted to get one before they were gone. “Well, I suppose I could be convinced to take a break and come upstairs for a while.”

The laugh was an unexpected bonus, and Steve tucked his sketchbook under his arm. “Great, let’s go then.” He led the way out of the lab and into the elevator. Tony pressed himself into the corner as he always did, leaning against the wall. Steve always seemed to take up more space than he should, or maybe he was just standing much closer than usual? It certainly felt like it. Tony was distracted from Steve’s warmth by the elevator doors opening onto a mostly darkened hallway, a few lights flickering lowly. 

“Uh, JARVIS? What’s up?” Tony hadn’t gotten any alerts that something was going on so he figured there hadn’t been an attack, but one couldn’t be too careful. 

“The others are playing a wargame, sir. They asked that you be invited but as you were working, I told them that you and the Captain were otherwise occupied.”

Oh. Well that wasn’t a big deal then. Tony breathed a sigh of relief. His super powered Nerf guns were a pain to be hit with but they didn’t cause actual damage. “Great, great… okay, Cap, let’s see if we can make the kitchen without getting killed, eh?”

Steve nodded; it was amazing to see him drop into Captain America mode at the drop of a hat. “Stay behind me,” he said, holding up his big sketch book. “It’s not the shield, but it’ll do.”

Tony laughed, but nodded. “Alright, if you insist,” he agreed. “But _only_ because we’re coming into this unarmed.” He fell into step beside and slightly behind Steve, ready to let the bulkier form of Captain America take on the brunt of the Nerf attacks.

A clatter sounded behind him, and Tony spun reflexively. “What the…” before he could get another word out, he was hit full in the face with a blast of water.

His startled inhale drew some into his mouth and suddenly he was sputtering and coughing. The lights flickered around him and he frantically rubbed at his face, trying to breathe. His heart pounded. Where were they? The water dripped off his nose and he took another breath.

“Tony. Tony!” The voice was coming from far away, and he spun, trying to get more distance between him and the voice.

“No, stop! Don’t!” The panic in his voice would be humiliating, if he weren’t already used to being humiliated. The lights flared; everything was too bright. He dropped to his knees and curled into a ball to protect his head. He knew he’d need his head when he got out of here.

The light dimmed, but not as dark as before. A warm hand settled on his shoulder and Tony flailed, shoving at the arm. It moved away immediately, but Tony could sense the bulk of someone still crouched beside him.

“Sir, it is August fifth, two-thousand-sixteen, and you are in the Avengers Tower in New York City. With you are Captain Rogers, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff.”

“JARVIS?” Tony shifted, swallowing hard and blinking against the lights. The room, he realized, was cool. He was shivering, damp.

“Indeed, sir. Welcome back.” If a robotic voice could be warm, JARVIS’ was. Tony shifted a little further and Steve came back into focus. He was crouched close, too close. Tony pressed back against the wall, and Steve shifted back. 

“Sorry, sorry…” he shot a glance at Clint over his shoulder. “Can we get some space, please?”

The other two stepped back, and, surprisingly, it’s Clint who spoke up.

“Sorry, Stark. Didn’t know it was a trigger. Tash and I were just letting off some steam.” He spoke matter-of-factly, and somehow that feels better than the pity Tony expected. It feels good, and Tony relaxes a little bit from his defensive curl.

“It’s fine,” he says, when he thinks he can speak. “Not like I wanted anyone to know.” He tried for threatening, but winced when he realized it only came out a little shaky.

“Understood.” Natasha’s voice was cool and even, and she nudged Clint with her shoulder. “Come on, Clint. Let’s go order some sushi, give these two a little privacy.” The two spies left the hallway, heading toward the kitchen, while Steve dropped down to sit across the hall from Tony.

“Sorry if I spooked you,” Steve said earnestly. He still looked half like he wanted to grab Tony and… well, Tony wasn’t really sure what Steve might do from there. “When you went down like that, and no one really knew what happened to set you off… it scared me.”

Tony barked a laugh, feeling slightly less shaky now that there were fewer people in the hall. He’d feel better still if he were back in the lab, but he was sick and tired of letting this shit beat him down. “Yeah, I can see that. Sorry, Cap. I remember when I first got back, I tried to take a shower. Man.” He shook his head self-deprecatingly. “That was a bad idea. It’s gotten better since then, thank God.”

“I remember some fellas from the war, shell shocked.” The war had been awful, and Steve had read a lot about the aftermath of it, despite missing most of it in the ice. “They couldn’t handle a lot of things, for a while, when they came back. I have a lot of respect for figuring out how to carry on, after.” He shifted closer to Tony. He’d read the file when he joined the Avengers, just like Tony had read his. He didn’t need the rehashing. “Listen, Tones…” he started to speak, but thought better of it. _Not the right time, Steve._

“Yeah?” Tony looked better, less pale. Steve was glad to see the attack had maybe only been a minor one. Tony appeared to be recovering quickly now that his face was dry and the immediate threat was gone.

“Never mind. Let’s go get dinner.”

“No. no, I wanna know.” The nickname rolled over him like a wave and Tony smiled. Only Steve and Rhodey called him ‘Tones’. It felt strangely intimate. Tony shifted and grabbed Steve’s wrist. It didn’t feel so bad when he was the one doing the touching. “What is it?”

“It’s really not the time,” Steve said again, blushing. Why had he opened his big mouth?

“Oh, oh, no no no, now I have to know.” Tony’s grin turned teasing. “What’s with the blush, Cap?”

“It’s nothing, Tony.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair, and then looked down where Tony still gripped his wrist. Licking his lips, he decided to go for broke and turned his hand over, gently twining his fingers with Tony’s. “I just saw you go down and I really didn’t like it.”

Tony's breath caught and Steve deliberately rubbed a thumb over the back of Tony's hand. “I realized how important you are to me, Tony. Really important.” He met Tony's gaze evenly, despite the fiery blush running up his face. “I mean that.”

“Uh, Cap, I'm not sure what to say.” Tony licked his lips, looking down at their joined hands. “And it takes a lot to make me speechless. Are you asking me to _date you?”_

Steve nodded, still flushing. “Yes. That’s what I’m asking, Tony. I want to date you.” He squeezed Tony’s hand, thrilling at the warm skin under his palm. A little clammy, but _real_. If he had his choice, he’d never let him go.

Tony barked out a laugh and shook his head. “You sure have a sense of timing, don’t you Cap?” His heart was beating out of his chest, a hell of a feeling when he lived on the edge of a heart attack. But could this be real? This wasn’t just some kind of panic attack related hallucination? 

“I know! I know. I told you that it wasn’t the time.” Steve reluctantly released Tony’s hand. “Come on, let’s go get some sushi, I’m sure it’ll be here soon.”

He didn’t get far before Tony grabbed his wrist. “I think now is the perfect time to discuss it,” Tony said, voice a little less shaky. “In fact, I don’t think I want to discuss it at all. Nope. You’re stuck with me now.” He grinned, the pallor on his face fading back to his usual more robust olive tone. “My boyfriend is Captain America. Hah. Suck it, fourteen year old me.”

“Tony!” Steve laughed, standing up and pulling Tony up with him. “You’re incorrigible.”

“You love it,” Tony asserted, and Steve wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“You’re right, I do,” he agreed, still grinning as they started down the hall. They could hear Bruce and Thor in the kitchen, apparently having joined Natasha and Clint for a team dinner. “Feeling better?” He asked as they reached the door, not wanting to push Tony into a crowd sooner than he was ready.

Tony actually seemed to think about it for a second, which reassured Steve greatly when he nodded. “Yeah. As long as there’s no more Super Soakers without my armor on, I think I’m good.”

Steve nodded seriously, and Tony’s heart flipped again. How the hell did he end up so lucky? With a broad grin, he nodded at the door. “C’mon, Cap, let’s eat.” He wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist and pushed open the door to the kitchen.

One Year Later

Tony lounged on a pool chair, sipping his Sex on the Beach. It wasn’t as strong as he might have made it a year ago, but it was still pretty damn good. The pool water glittered as the others splashed around. Natasha was on Thor’s shoulders and somehow, amazingly, Bruce was on Clint’s as they played a game of chicken. Tony smirked behind his sunglasses. Living with superheroes provided the _best_ eye candy.

The elevator door dinged open and Tony flicked his eyes over as the hottest thing on two legs strolled out of the gleaming doors. Steve grinned brightly when he saw Tony, and he dropped his towel on the chair next to him. “So you came out of your dungeon, hm?” He laughed, and that laugh gave Tony that familiar little stomach flip. He hoped it never went away. Steve leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, licking at the remains of the tangy sweet drink there.

“Mm, yeah, well, someone promised me ribs,” Tony replied with a matching grin. “And some serious eye candy.” 

Steve laughed again and stood up. “Well, I think I’m going to go for a swim… if those four let me have a little bit of space.” 

Tony looked at the splashing, roughhousing group and set his glass down. He could see Steve watching him, and he put his sunglasses next to it as he tried to silence his beating heart. It had been a long road, but Steve travelled it with him. Tony levered himself out of the chair, ran toward the edge of the pool, shouting over his shoulder as he jumped in “C’mon, babe! We can take ‘em!”

**Author's Note:**

> *  
> *  
> *  
> *  
> *  
> *  
> *
> 
> Okay, brief warning here that Tony does suffer one flashback related to his previous torture at the hands of the Ten Rings. It is honestly mostly skipped over but he does have a mild panic attack. I hope I handled it ok and didn't gloss it over TOO much. It is in the third scene.


End file.
